Help identifying 4-digit Serial Charvel

[silverfacechamp]

Hello...I know this is yet another "What do I have here?" thread, but this one has resulted in a number of widely differing opinions, and even I as a long-term collector/flipper am not sure what this is, exactly.

Some friends of mine own a pawn shop, and this guitar was lost in pawn along with an ESP Vintage Plus strat. The guy that pawned claimed to have inherited both instruments from his father a few years ago and that his father had owned them "for a long time." At my urging, the shop pulled the guitar apart and took pictures of the neck pocket, etc., as the pictures indicate. I looked at the pots and, IIRC, they are R-code CTS. The neck plate appears to be a correct 1984 4-digit plate with the expected tarnishing and characteristic warping, but the rest of the guitar sure seems to be a newer production American unit, although I am unable to find one in this paint scheme with the matching headstock. Additionally, the Custom Shops I've seen also seem to be slightly different in terms of neck pocket markings, serial plate, etc. The DeMartini's are similar, but not quite the same. The guitar is absolutely pristine (too nice to be a believable factory 1984 model, really) and is in a form fitted, modern-style Charvel hard case. The neck pocket name stamp shows up in a few forum posts about Eric Johnson and other high-end Fender Strats, but beyond that I'm stymied.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. The friends of mine that have this are good people just trying to figure out what they have and get a fair price out of it. Thank you in advance.

[diablomozart]

don't think that plate goes with that body...d.m.

[rjohnstone]

Markings indicate it's a ProMod Charvel neck and body.
Nice paint job too, but that plate doesn't belong to that guitar.

[shreddermon]

Pretty sure we've seen this before on fleabay. Total parts mutt. Educated guesses....

Body: early 2000s USA production guitar. Formerly had a pointyhead neck, most likely with a rosewood fretboard ("RSW"). Graphic may be original.

Neck: ProMod. Judging from the tuners, most likely MIA or possibly MIJ. Headstock paint is not original, aftermarket refin to match the body.

Neckplate: old SD era, someone's trying to pretend like this guitar is an original San Dimas era piece. Not very convincing.

[silverfacechamp]

Neck: ProMod. Judging from the tuners, most likely MIA or possibly MIJ. Headstock paint is not original, aftermarket refin to match the body.

It's difficult to tell in the pictures, but there's no way that headstock is a refin. The paint is matched perfectly to the body, the logo lines up perfectly with production pieces, and the quality of the work is factory-level. As I said, Charvels aren't my wheelhouse, but I've bought and sold hundreds of guitars and I'd bet serious money that the paint on the headstock and the paint on the body were done at the same time in the same place. Maybe the whole thing is an aftermarket paint job, but it's not a mismatched set. That said, I'm not trying to argue and I appreciate the help.

The guitar hasn't been up on eBay....they had it up on Reverb for a while and got absolutely lambasted by people telling them it was junk, which it clearly isn't.

Having had the instrument in my hands several times, I'm a believer that everything, including the paint, is factory Charvel (neckplate predating the rest of the guitar). Beyond that, I don't know.

[silverfacechamp]

Markings indicate it's a ProMod Charvel neck and body.
Nice paint job too, but that plate doesn't belong to that guitar.

Disregarding the plate for a minute, the only matched headstock/body Charvels I've seen are Custom Shop pieces. Any chance this is a Custom Shop that somebody slapped an old SD plate on?

[diablomozart]

couple of things look odd...no made in usa under logo, weird big hole in neck pocket, stamped name on butt of neck heel...if it is a custom shop there would be handwriting in the trem cavity denoting at least a work order number and possibly the finish...personally i don't think it's a custom shop but i'm not all that familiar with the newer charvels...best advice i could give is shoot fmic an email and ask...depending on their mood they may or may not answer...d.m.

[rjohnstone]

I'm thinking a pro refinish.
Making it look like a "factory" finish is hot hard if you have the right equipment and painting skills.
The neck screams ProMod.

[shreddermon]

90-plus percent confident it is as i described it. And that < 10 percent doubt only relates to the body. There were quite a few early 2000s done in that copperhead snakeskin graphic, and they were all pointyhead necks. Otherwise, it may be a later ProMod body with a graphic refin and upgraded hardware, but I think that's a whole lot less likely.

Again, it's a total parts mutt. It's all Charvel parts, but almost certainly from three different guitars, three different factories, and three different eras. And with a headstock refin. Wishing it to be something else won't make it so. Sorry if your friends got taken for a ride on it, the value would reflect that. Might be a cool player otherwise, though.

[j2379]

There are a number of people that can match that graphic. I also think it was a pointy copper head w an added promod neck. There have been a couple of those bodies for sale over the years.

[chrisolson]

Custom Shop neck with Grovers? No way...

Mutt.

[Johnnyryche]

Shreddermon and others are correct - it's a parts guitar made with Charvel parts. The headstock was refinished by Dan Lawrence to match the body. Here's a thread back from 2012 with details and pics of that guitar when it was completed by a member here.

http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/131017-05-Copperhead-revealed?highlight=copperhead

[shreddermon]

Johnny for the win! Excellent recollection skills, bro.

[Bert]

Freakin' cool guitar regardless.

[voodoosound]

I guess he didn't like the answer of the actual facts being pointed out. Not even a half assed decent attempt at faking a Charvel. The contours aren't even correct for the plate it's sporting. And the neck is an absolute joke. Not even taking into account the ping tuners.